Post #2: Respectful Appearance

As Ernest Hemingway’s novel, The Sun Also Rises, progresses, Jake Barnes’ relationship with service men and woman matures as well.  It is easy to overlook these men and women, whose jobs vary from waiters to porters to bartenders, but Hemingway ensures that the reader does not gloss over these human beings. 

When Barnes first begins to narrate about his own life, his train of thought ended when “[t]he waiter came up”, as he turned his attention to the server (22).  Jake’s next meaningful encounter with a waiter occurs as he sympathizes for two waiters who looked as if “[t]hey wanted to go home” (68).  Hemingway begins to establish his protagonist’s relationship with these people who are sometimes viewed as inanimate objects and continues to build on it throughout the text. 

            Many other characters have opportunities to even briefly acknowledge service people, but time after time it is Barnes who seems to take initiative.  In fact, the majority of times Jake is noticed to tip a service person, another character is alongside him.  On page 32, Jake narrates, “I gave the waiter a franc and we [Jake and Brett] went out” (32).  Later in the story, as Barnes and Bill have a drink, Jake states, “We each had an aguardiente and paid forty centimes for the two drinks.  I gave the woman fifty centimes to make a tip” (112).  However, Hemingway reveals that this relationship is not always a one-way street.  As Barnes goes to leave his office, he seems to be rewarded for his thoughtfulness.  Jake narrates this experience, “the porter stopped me to brush off my coat. ‘You must have been in a motor-car,’ he said” (102).  As Barnes is repaid for his attentiveness to those often overlooked, karma seems to be in his favor.

            Jake Barnes relationship with service people is not an odd one, but in the context of a novel, it may seem displaced at first.  Many of these moments happen daily in life and after, perhaps, a moment of pleasure the exchange is often forgotten before too long.  So why would Hemingway go to such great trouble to make these exchanges present?

            To answer this question, one must first understand the point of view and the narrator Hemingway creates.  Due to the fact that this book is self-narrated by the main character, his authenticity as he recounts events should immediately be questioned.  His kindness and care for service people ought to be crosschecked with how others react to him.  Barnes is a man with a dry humor, often making jokes through insults and so, although not impossible, these relationships are certainly marked as unordinary. 

            Another situation to be considered is his actions when he is alone.  Hemingway presents Barnes as a man who is caring and thoughtful in the presence of others, but when alone, another side of him might shine through.  When Jake and Bill arrive at the lodge before they go fishing, Barnes sets out to pay for the rooms.  A slightly different Barnes is illuminated as the hostess names the price and Jake replies, “ ‘[t]hat’s too much…We didn’t pay more than that at a big hotel’ ” (115).  Although not quite hostile, a different Jake is certainly presented when alone with a service woman.

            Hemingway might be trying to communicate the multiple personalities that shine through when in the company of others, but as of yet, there is not enough evidence.  If Jake’s relationships are taken for face value, Hemingway might be attempting to showcase how Barnes treats all with respect.  Having lost one of the most humane attributes, Jake knows what it is like to feel less than human.  Because of this, he may treat all with respect, fearing that he may hurt another human being the way in which he has been hurt.

(through page 130)